Blood Red Moon
by Lauwil198
Summary: It's hard having a werewolf as one of your best friends, harder when he keeps hurting the ones you love. Can their friendship really last?


**A/N:** The usual I do not own HP, characters, etc. etc. Would love some feedback, experimenting with switching POVs, is it too confusing or do you love it? Enjoy!

 **Blood Red Moon**

Remus had decided, as he left the potions classroom behind in his wake, that he shouldn't have left his room that morning. Today was the day of the full moon and he felt a little worse than usual, he could feel the wolf inside him clawing at his brain wanting to be free. It was dangerously close to the surface. He wasn't sure of his physical appearance, but considering the stares from other students and the concerned looks of staff, that he wasn't fairing well.

With a loud sigh he made his way out onto the grounds, having no intention of going to his next class. Right now he just wanted some fresh air and a place to relax before the very long night ahead.

James watched Remus carefully through potions. His friend was extremely agitated and looked terrible. James knew the full moon was tonight but he hadn't seen Remus look this bad since their fourth year. Something was on Remus' mind that was causing him some form of distress, Remus' transformation were always worse when something was worrying him.

When Potions was over James packed his stuff up quickly, but was disappointed to see Remus was already gone. Leaving Sirius and Peter behind as Slughorn yelled at his best friend for throwing dried slugs at Snape, James quickly rushed out of class to catch up with Remus. He was quite concerned for his friend and didn't even notice Lily at his heels.

Remus' nose twitched when his unusually heightened senses picked up that someone was following him. It twitched again when he noticed there was actually two people following him. He hated how his senses where so sensitive near a full moon. Assuming it was just James and Sirius, Remus made no attempt to stop to allow them to catch up. He was only going to reassure them that he was fine and send them off to their next class. Remus rounded the Greenhouses and suddenly stopped when his senses picked up something familiar. The wolf recognised the smell instantly and went wild. It scratched at the walls that kept it at bay excitedly, wanting to come to the surface. It wanted to be free. Remus stopped his quick pace and retched in pain as he felt his insides churn, desperately trying to fight back the delirious creature inside him.

James rounded the corridor just in time to see Remus walk out of the doors of Hogwarts and onto the grounds. He considered calling out to him, but knew that Remus wouldn't wait for him. Picking up his pace, James made for the grounds in the attempt to catch up to him, still unaware of anyone close to his heels. By the time he reached the Greenhouse he saw Remus stop and he took his last couple of steps at a run, until he stopped dead only meters away. Remus was hunched over, his body tense and James instantly knew what was happening. He had seen it so many times before. His friend was trying to control the monster inside him. He was vaguely aware of someone brushing past him, by the time he realised, it was too late.

Remus continued to retch as a battle commenced inside his head. The wolf had broken through the barrier and he struggled to contain it. A light touch oh his shoulder suddenly startled him and his concentration broke allowing the wolf to slip past his last defence and take control. Remus watched on helplessly as the wolf turned his body to face the assailant that had disturbed them. Remus' heart sunk as the wolf confronted a beautiful flock of red hair and large green eyes whose concern quickly turned to fear. /Please not Lily/, he begged the wolf. Whether the wolf heard him or not, Remus didn't know. All he could do is watch hopelessly in horror as the wolf grabbed Lily's arm just below her wrist. Lightly at first, nothing tighter than that of human, but the wolf tightened his grip until he heard the sound of breaking bone. Remus felt the wolf smile inwardly as he continued to tighten his grip on Lily's arm as she screamed.

"Lily! No!" James yelled, as he watched his girlfriend approach Remus. He was too late though. With only a moment to act, James race forward to protect her. By the time he reached them Lily was already screaming in pain and James didn't hesitate to act. Grabbing the front of Remus' robes, with all his strength, James threw him against the wall of the Greenhouse. The hand that wasn't holding his friends robes, went straight for his throat in the hopes of being able to hold back the monster.

"Remus! I know you hear me, Remus! Fight it!" James begged to the boy pinned against the wall of the Greenhouse.

Remus fought against the wolf as the wolf fought against James. He vaguely heard James' voice but the angry howls of the wolf inside his head made it difficult to understand. Slowly but surely the wolf began to calm as the smell of James filled his nostrils and the hand around his neck made it difficult for him to breath. Even as the wolf began to retreat to the back of his mind and he regain his senses, James kept him pinned hard against the wall.

"James..." Remus choked softly.

James kept a firm grip around Remus' neck. He wasn't going to take any chances. He heard Lily speak and begin to approach but he barked at her to stay back. Even in a calm state if the wolf was still in control of Remus he could kill Lily in the blink of an eye.

After a few minutes Remus' choked out his name and James let go, letting him fall to the ground in a wounded state. As soon as he let Remus go he was by Lily's side, reassuring her everything would be fine, even Remus, as he inspected her arm.

"I need to get you to the Hospital Wing, I'll have to explain to Madam Pomfrey the situation and hope it doesn't get Remus expelled." He continued before Lily could object. "I promise I'll come back for Remus as soon as I know you're alright, I'll get Sirius to stay with him for now."

Remus felt himself fall to the ground when the hand around his throat was released. He tried to see what was going on, but his eyes looked unseeing from the exhaustion. He heard mumbled voices and something fall on his lap before retreating footsteps. Tonight would be hell.

James tried to soothe Lily, who was close to hysterics. He could tell she was in a lot of pain, but was still in too much shock to cry. Wanting to get Lily to the Hospital Wing as soon as possible, he pulled his mirror from his pocket and tried to obscure it from her view.

"Sirius," he spoke into it quickly. "Behind the greenhouse, hurry."

He threw the mirror into Remus' lap before pushing Lily along. "Shh, I know it hurts. And Remus will be fine, Sirius will be there soon to help him."

He pushed Lily along as fast as he could. He saw tears begin to stream down her face and felt something swell up inside him, not knowing what it was he pushed it aside and continued to try and soothe her. "It's okay Lily, you don't need to hold back the tears," he said to her softly. "I know it hurts, but we'll get it fixed soon. You'll be good as new." As he continued to speak sweet nothings to her to keep her calm, James realised that the pain Lily felt now would be nothing compared to the pain this incident will cause Remus.

"Please don't be mad at Remus," he heard Lily sob softly.

James' heart sank, feeling helpless. "Of course I won't," he whispered to her, wiping the tears from her face with his hands. "He wasn't himself, I can never be angry at him for that." The only person James was angry at was himself, he should have known Lily would follow him, he should have stopped her, he should have protected her.


End file.
